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Lucy and Wyatt's father had an office full of unusual and rare items that drew Wyatt's curiosity. This curiosity often got them in trouble.
She hated the room.
"No, we can't," she tried to reason with her stubborn twin.
"I need to see them," he answered and picked at the lock with tools from a kit he found online. It's amazing what a 12 year old could learn from the internet. With a twist of the nob the door opened.
"Stop." She pulled at the back of his blue shirt. It didn't stop him.
Inside on the walls in glass framed dead bodies of bugs, crawlers, and flyers. Their wings spread out to show off their beauty. Objects she couldn't name and a skull of some animal sat on the shelves with big fat books she couldn't imagine reading. Her skin crawled, and begged for the sun. She wanted to be outside, but he had said they were doing this today. She would do anything for him.
Well almost anything.
She wouldn't look at them. The things that Wyatt obsessed over. The reason he learned to pick a lock. A stuffed raven with its beak wide opened guarded them but that didn't stop him.
Nothing stopped him.
"Help me." he said, but she didn't turn. Her back tensed at knowing they were behind her. As if they had eyes. She felt them.
He grunted. Still she didn't look.
"What are you doing?" Their father had returned. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her. Her eyes went to them. The wings. The big white wings. The pair looked like they belonged to a big bird. Only wings. No body. As if they waited for their owner to return.
Wyatt held the frame in his hands.
She flicked from her father's arms and ran from the room.
"Those are not yours. Go play outside." Their father's voice carried into the hall where she hid.
"Coward." Wyatt said as he exited the office.
"Come on. Let's go outside." Already she felt the sun on her skin.
He turned on her, "You know I can't. I'm allergic to the sun."
She rolled her eyes. "You got sunburn."
With his red hair and fair skin he got a bad sunburn the last time she talked into playing outside.
"And a fever!" he stumped away from her, down the hall.
"Who's the coward now?" she asked in a low voice.
He didn't hear her because he announced in his booming voice, "I'm hungry," and turned down the hall toward the middle of the house and the kitchen.
She sighed and heard behind her. "You know you don't have to follow him."
She didn't look at the speaker. "I know, but he'll get into trouble if left alone."
"Maybe he needs it?" said a different voice.
"Are you coming?" Wyatt called from down the hall.
"Coming."
Once in the kitchen a dog and a cat ran through her legs as they played together. They settled on their bed together and took a nap like they weren't just housing around.
"Weird animals." Wyatt said, he loaded a plate full of leftover breakfast biscuits and filled them with meats and cheese.
"Careful. They can understand." she said.
"Whatever." he said, with a mouth full of food.
She grabbed a biscuit and cheese, and poured orange juice into a glass.
The smell of grass grew stronger, and in walked Ms. Moore. Lucy wasn't sure what she did around the house but she was big on them exercising. "Time to go outside and train."
Wyatt huffed, "I'll be glad when I get to the moon and don't have to worry about the sun."
"I believe the sun would be worse up there, Mr. Wyatt." Ms. Moore informated.
He stormed off.
She looked at Lucy. "Training?"
"Can I skip today?"
"Why?"
"He is in the worst mood this morning. He might get the wings."
"If he's not careful he'll break them." and she too grabbed a biscuit and meat.
No need to follow him to know where he went.
The basement.
She hated the basement, too. Cold, damp, and no sun. The way Wyatt liked it.
The steps squeaked under her feet.
"Who's there?" He called, fear in his voice.
"It's me," Lucy answered. What was he up to? she wondered but didn't really want the answer. At the bottom of the stairs she found him lying on the floor.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't belong here." His voice echoed off the walls.
"No one can live on the moon," she told him.
"How do you know?"
"Science books." she answered.
"Why can't I have my wings?"
"Father said they are not your wings." The floor was cold to the touch when she laid down next to him.
"They had grown. Did you notice?"
Nope, she thought, but didn't say anything out loud.
"They are alive." He jumped from the floor as if the thought sprung him forward, and ran up the stairs.
"Wait for me!"
"I'm going to free them. Today." Wyatte rushed out the basement door. "They are mine," he said again. "Then I'll fly to the moon."
"What about me?" She shut the door behind her.
"You have Father and Ms. Moore."
"You have them, too."
"They don't understand me."
"Yes, they do," she insisted.
He walked to the end of the hall but then pressed his back to the wall at the corner. He turned to her, his eyes angry. "You told."
She peeked around the corner. Ms. Moore guarded the office's door. "Maybe Father told her we were in there this morning."
With his hands on her shoulders, he pushed her back down the hall. "I'm starting to think you don't understand me either."
"But I do."
Voices carried down the hall, they hurried back to the corner. Father stood in the doorway. His face red and Ms. Moore rubbed at her back. They both laughed. Their father placed his hand on Ms. Moore's cheek.
"Gross," Wyatt said.
"Walk with me." Father said.
Are they? she thought. Inwardly she begged Ms. Moore not to move.but they both headed down the hall in the opposite direction.
"Yes," Wyatt said and moved to the office's door. It opened with no trouble.
No, no, she thought and ran down the hall after him. Hoped she made enough noise to draw the adults back. There's a loud crash. At the door, she looked in. Her whole body shook. Would he be gone? she wondered. At the thought tears ran down her cheeks.
"Fool," said a voice.
She looked down at the cat.
"I did it." Wyatt said. He stood at the end of the room. His face was full of wonder. The biggest grin she ever saw on his face. Her glance moved upward to the middle of the room. Up in the air flapped the wings at a slow pace. Attached to nothing. No body. Nothing. Her ears rang at the sight and her head grew heavy.
"I did it." he said again. She almost didn't hear him. "I'm going to the moon but?" his face turned an uncertain expression. "How do I get them?" His face lit up like a light bulb and he rolled the office chair under them. Up he climbed on to the leather chair with wheels.
"Don't," she called and moved out of the doorway. The dog barked behind her. Wyatt got both his feet into the chair and reached for the wings. He laughed but then lost his balance. She reached for him.
The wings seemed to turn toward her.
Still Wyatt fell.
She caught him. Put him on the ground. "How?" She looked down, her feet didn't touch the ground. Her stomach turned at the imbalance feeling of free hanging in the air.
"No!" Wyatt screamed when he looked up at her. "Those are mine."
"No, they're hers." said the dog in the doorway, but Wyatt as usual didn't hear him.
She felt the wings moving the same way she felt her legs move when she walked. Her feet touch the ground. Once she was on equal ground as him. Wyatt attacked her. "Give those to me!"
He grabbed at her feathers. Pulled them. "These are not yours!" Pain shot through her shoulders and upper back. She couldn't speak. The dog kept barking at them.
"Stop!" a voice boomed from the doorway. Wyatt stopped but the pain didn't go away. He turned to their father. "Tell her to give me my wings." he whined as if he was the one in pain.
"Those belong to her," their father said.
"What? No!"
"I'm sorry, son, but you are not from the moon. I was hoping you would grow out of that idea."
"And she is?" Wyatt sat on the floor.
"No, she belongs on the earth but not in our world. She was here for me to protect. Since you are the same age I told the lie that the two of you were twins."
"She's not my sister?"
"No." He moved back out of the room and shouted, "Ms. Moore it's time!"
The woman appeared. At the sight of Lucy with her wings the woman shifted into a large wolf. Both children jumped back.
"Get on her back!" Father said.
"What is she?" Lucy asked.
"Your guardian," came the answer from Father, and he grabbed her and threw her on the wolf's back. Lucy grabbed two fists full of hair.
"What about me?" Wyatt asked and reached for her.
But Father stopped him. "We don't have time. They'll find her now that she has her wings. Ms. Moore will keep her safe. We need to leave, too."
"I'll find you," Lucy called to Wyatt as the wolf took off out the door, down the hall, and through the back door into a bright portal opening.
~The year is 2086. Electricity is the main source of energy, all the others depleted or discarded. Daily existence is filled with convenience. Minds are numb with pleasure and the lack of struggle, for all is provided. The living believe life is good, and it is. But then came the Black Crash.
Police Officer Hidalgo
No one knows what caused it.
It had been a Thursday evening like any other when a cannon-like blast echoed across the city. Seconds later windows all over the city darkened, a great wave of shadow plunging everyone into darkness. Outages happen, Officer Hidalgo knew. He had been on patrol that night, his own car shutting down with the rest of the city. It was all so sudden, as if someone had merely pulled the plug on the world.
It was when he turned to his phone, also consumed in darkness, that he knew this was different.
His phone was completely dead, nothing he did would turn it on.
Which means all technology is dead.
No phones, no cars, no internet, no digital billboards, no fancy refrigerators.
It was all dead.
This same thought seemed to hit the rest of the city at that moment, for that was when screams began to echo between the darkened buildings. Quick as he could, Officer Hidalgo leapt from his useless car and into the panic building in the middle of the frozen streets, filled with other dead cars. Climbing to the top of one rusty husk, he raised his hands and voice, ?Please!? he cried, ?There is no need to panic! We have outages all the time, that's all this is!?
One person at a time, he seemed to be gaining attention, and before long the crowd had calmed to a moderate fearfulness. ?Please? he lowered his voice and hands in an appeasing gesture, ?I'm sure the electric companies already know about this. Once they figure out what happened, things will be back up and running before we know it.?
As he said this, the last of the buildings darkened in the city, plunging everyone into impenetrable darkness. So heavy was this darkness, it seemed to compress fear into something thicker, something paralyzing. Just as Officer Hidalgo thought that the crowds were settled, a high scream pierced the silence as pale light fell from the sky above.
As each person turned their eyes skyward, their faces contorted into something horrific, panicked. For above them all was a silver swarm, one that overtook the entirety of the heavens.
None of them had seen anything like this before. Panic and hysteria ensued, screams pierced the charged air and individuals scattered. Officer Hidalgo could do nothing, for he himself stood paralyzed in the wake of this infinite army of silver light above.
Edison
When the blackout struck, he saw his chance.
Notebook and pencil in hand, he ran from his single-story house and down the main road. If he could get out before the panic started, that would be even better. No one to stop him, trample him, scream at him, tell him to be afraid. He was afraid, but not of the blackout. These began to happen all the time once society shifted completely to electricity. Every single time, there was panic.
He was, however, afraid of missing this chance.
The screams started earlier this time, and he jumped as the first one pierced the air. Edison knew that the electric companies would already be informed by now, which meant the timer had started. Maybe an hour or so, that's all he had.
It was hardly enough.
Once on the edge of the city, the air grew fresher, no longer tainted with that fizz that was always there. Out here, it was clear and cool, refreshing as Edison took great gulps of it. Though he still ran, his legs did not falter, nor did his chest ache. While youth was on his side, small trips out of the city gave him strength that others did not have. He knew it could go as long as he'd want.
But his destination grew closer.
As far outside the city he could go, while still able to keep an eye on the goings and comings within, Edison's hill welcomed him. Soft grass, untouched by electric fire, soothed his skin as he flopped down. Up here he felt tall, as his hill rose as tall as some of the buildings in that cursed city.
Quickly he got himself situated, cracking open his notebook. Tonight, he was hoping to see Orion again, maybe even the Big Dipper if enough of the city was dark. One way or another, he was hoping to get more progress done on his sketch of the night sky this time of the year. Grandma Bonnie had helped some, telling him where he could turn his gaze, filling in the gaps where the darkness had stolen his chance. Now he knew where he might see Cancer or Draco, maybe even Ursa Major.
Readying his pencil, lead to paper, he turned his head up to something he had never seen.
Across the expanse of the heavens was a river of stars, and ocean of stars. The great line reached horizon to horizon, dark stars twirling with light stars. Millions upon millions of others surrounded this great creation, lighting up the night all on its own. None of the electric lights could touch this bountiful source, as endless it existed.
The sight stole the breath from Edison's lungs, his pencil falling from his limp fingers. Chills ran down his spine and across his arms as his eyes fought hard to take in every inch, every spec. Peaceful warmth spread from his chest out, as realization hit that he was nothing compared to this creation. How small he is, a speck himself in the eyes of eternity. How ignorant man is, to think they can compete with the glow of the heavens.
A hand moved to his mouth on its own accord as tears welled in his eyes. Is this what his people gave up when they turned their backs on nature? At this thought, Edison's heart broke, and the sobs became uncontrollable. Their cause: the incredible beauty around him, the society that gave it up, and the idea that he himself was blessed enough to know it's worth.
Grandma Bonnie
While the rest of the city panicked, a singular woman merely watched. Born over 80 years ago, she understood what that silver swarm overhead was. As the masses below saw it for the first time, for there had yet to be a time when the entire city darkened, she watched them from her pristine living room window. Her three-story apartment was high enough she could see them all in their fear, as well as the poor officer trying to bring order.
?It's the Milky Way, you fools?? she sighed, letting the pink lace curtains fall over the window. Screams continued after she turned her back on them, turning to the darkness of her own apartment. Not like she had hope for this generation anyway, she reminded herself as she pulled a handful of wax candles from her kitchen cabinets. Too focused on conveniences, on what the world can do for them. Barely a soul was willing to step outside of themselves, out of their own city for mercy's sake.
Thank goodness her Edison was not that way.
While this generation turned to technology as children, her grandson had turned to books and reading. She nursed this, of course, having quite the private library herself. He devoured every text she passed to him, whether be fiction or history or science. But once he discovered astronomy, she grew excited. She loved the night skies herself as a child, spending many an evening under their magical glow. And once he wanted to see them for himself? She was all too willing to provide a notebook and pencil, plus direction.
The candles lit easily, spreading their warmth faster than electricity. Her smile came quickly as the naturalness of the fire awoken her childhood within her. The smell of earth not fried or burnt. Fresh air, wild and liberating. All of this was natural, all of this was life. Technology was destroying this naturalness, severing the human connection to the world around it.
This threatened the Age of Mankind, she believed.
But she was old, what did she know?
Her mind turned back to her grandson, who was no doubt out in the hills. Would he know the Milky Way when he saw it? This would be his first time, she supposed, for a complete blackout hadn't happened since before he was born. Though he may not understand what he was seeing, he would not run in fear like those poor idiots in the street.
Though they filled her with disappointment, she felt a deep pity for those in the streets. They did not know any better, she reasoned. They were just victims of the era. So, Grandma Bonnie took her candle with its tiny flame, and sat in her favorite armchair. All the while, she reminisced on her childhood in all its natural glory.
Officer Hidalgo
Finally, after what seemed like ages, a yellow haze fogged up the far horizon deeper in the city. He knew it wouldn't be long before the bright wave would reach this side of town, bringing life back to the technology that surrounded them all.
?Look!? he cried, the light wave of hope swooping closer and closer, a ?whoosh? echoing where the electricity replaced the darkness.
A great cry of joy echoed from the streets as the silvery swarm above slowly vanished.
?Oh, thank goodness? Officer Hidalgo sighed, putting his hands to his hips as he watched the sky proceed to darken. The mass of people around him began to calm, screams returning to tired chatter, weak with relief. Fear had drained their energy, and many just walked off the streets towards their homes, leaving the previous event as well as their empty cars to deal with in the morning.
Another officer who had been in the fray came to Hidalgo's side, looking as shaken as the rest of them, ?What do you think that was?? he asked, eyes to the black sky.
?I don't have any idea? he sighed, shoulders aching from holding them tense, ?Never saw anything like that.?
?Me neither? he mumbled, ?Strange too, how they vanished once the lights came on??
?Uh-huh? Hidalgo grunted, ?Like they were watching us.?
?Maybe the light scared them off??
?Probably? he nodded, ?Wonder where they were from.?
?Probably government? the other officer shrugged, ?If I had to guess.?
?Yeah? he nodded, then sighed again as exhaustion hit him hard, ?Probably.?
Edison
?No, no please!? the young boy cried, as the great river of stars started to drift back into the darkness. It had not yet been an hour, but the city lights whooshed back on, one building at a time. Frantically he scribbled an outline of the stary river, trying to add as much as possible before it was taken from him for who knows how long.
?No?? he breathed, hand slowing to a stop as the river became nothing but a memory against the inky black of the night.
Edison had been in awe for more than half his time on the hill, just staring at the glory before his eyes. At first, he hadn't even wanted to try and draw it, knowing he could never do it justice. Never get it down right. How does one began to imitate something so perfect, with barely adequate material. But once he heard the first ?whoosh? of the electricity coming back on, he desperately had tried to get it down so he could have something to show Grandma Bonnie. Now as he looked at the page, it was nothing but a shadow, a set of blurred lines and attempted replication. He knew it would not be as beautiful, but he still felt his heart sink in disappointment.
But he realized it wasn't just disappointment in his work that made him feel sick. He knew he had to go back into that awful city, back to that artificial life. He knew he could never be happy there, not when he had tasted reality.
The cold air wrapped its brisk arms around him as he tried to decide what to do.
He didn't want to go back- not yet.
Slowly he got to his feet and turned his back on the electric life waiting at home for him. Now in front of him, he could see the hills rolled on forever. Stretching his eyes to the horizon, he didn't see the sickly yellow glow that marked the existence of another city. Instead, where the hills kissed the sky, he could see the faint flicker of stars untainted by inky darkness.
He heart inflated, and he knew what he had to do.
He would indeed return to Grandma Bonnie, but not until he saw that river of stars again.
With hope keeping his footsteps light, he walked deeper into the hills to starry infinity he always dreamed off.
Grandma Bonnie
All the lights in her apartment came on at once, and she allowed herself a moment of relief. Even she would admit its difficult to cook with nothing but a small candle flame.
She knew then that her Edison had found the Milky Way. She knew he would not be content with the short time he had been given with it. She just knew he was going to follow it out into the hills, just to see it again. Most importantly, she knew he was going to be okay. He knew how to take care of himself, and he would find his way back home when he was ready.
Grandma Bonnie chuckled to herself as a mischievous thought crossed into her mind.
She rose from her favorite armchair and drew the blinds. The neighbors already thought her eccentric, she did not need to give them more fodder. Traveling through her small apartment, she turned off each and every light until she was plunged back into a comforting darkness. From her coffee table, she picked up the book she was reading. Finally, she grabbed the candle she had lit earlier in the evening, picked off the dripping wax from its side, and relit it.
If her grandson was brave enough to rebel, so was she.
Sitting back in her favorite armchair, she flipped her book open and began to read from the flickering light of the wax candle. Though her old eyes struggled to piece the dark letters together, she would not have wanted it any other way.
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